Lasers have been used extensively in many different
specialties of medicine. We at Eastern Carolina
Ear, Nose, and Throat also use lasers quite extensively.
The laser provides a very delicate touch and allows
the surgeon to operate through small spaces to
cut or coagulate tissue. It can be used to make
incisions or to remove tissue, including abnormal
growth.

In the field of ENT, lasers are commonly used
for work on the voice box. They can be used to
incise or remove parts of the voice box or for
other reasons; such has removal of papillomas
(benign growths in the voice box which occur most
commonly in children and can cause airway obstruction).
Lasers are also used for certain types of ear
surgery to operate on the bones of hearing. Another
use for lasers in our field is for facial skin
resurfacing to treat certain types of age-related
changes in the skin or for some other abnormalities
of the skin.

Lasers have been
previously used in surgery for snoring. This procedure
is called laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP).
In this procedure, an incision is made in the
soft palate (the back of the roof of the mouth)
and the size of the soft palate is reduced. The
procedure is effective, but the patients have
a fair amount of pain with it. This is a nice
example of how lasers are not always the best
solution for a particular problem. A new form
of technology called Somnoplasty
has been developed which is also very effective
for snoring,but
has dramatically reduced the issue of pain. Eastern
Carolina ENT is now offering the Somnoplasty procedure,
which is performed in the office. To learn
more about Somnoplasty click
here.

The important thing to understand about lasers
is that the laser is not always the best tool
to perform a procedure. Your physician will take
into account each individual circumstance in each
individual patient in deciding whether a laser
is the appropriate and best tool. Occasionally,
patients are excited to hear that a certain type
of procedure is being performed with the laser,
but it is important to keep in mind that the laser
is just one of many tools that the physician has
to choose from in treating various disorders in
the ear, nose, and throat.